Meeting Minutes

November 4, 2016 (9:00AM – 12:00PM) City of North Miami Beach

The Southeast Florida Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Working Group is an informal group of participants, from various agencies and organizations, whose purpose is to work together to foster the creation of TOD in Southeast Florida in a cooperative, collaborative, effective, and efficient manner.

Agenda Items

1. TOD Roundtable Updates After brief introductions and announcements, participants shared individual updates on TOD- related efforts.

2. Strategic Miami Area Rapid Transit Plan - Presentation by Wilson Fernandez, Miami-Dade Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO)

3. Report on Regional TOD Compact Discussions and Next Steps Chris Sinclair reported results from discussions with the Regional Planning Councils and MPOs on a potential Regional TOD Compact, as one of the 10 TOD implementation initiatives. 4. TOD Implementation Workshops - Updated Approach Kate Ange presented the final approach for the TOD Implementation Workshops for Local Governments as presented to the TOD Leadership Committee meeting in October and refined to incorporate the committee’s suggestions. 5. City of North Miami Beach’s TOD Planning Efforts - Presentation by Richard Lorber

Participants

 Christina Miskis, South Florida Regional Council (SFRC)  Fred Stubbs, Palm Tran  Larry Hymowitz, Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) District Four Systems & Policy Planning  Lynda Westin, South Florida Regional Transportation Authority (SFRTA)  Richard Lorber, City of North Miami Beach

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 Richard Lorber, City of North Miami Beach  Wilson Fernandez, Miami-Dade MPO Remote Participants

 Alex Hansen, City of West Palm Beach  Jorge Perez, Palm Beach County  Khurshid Mohyuddin, Palm Beach County  Kim Delaney, Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council (TCRPC)  Valerie Nielson, Palm Beach MPO  Vinod Sandanasamy, Broward County Facilitators  Chris Sinclair, Renaissance Planning  Nicole Estevez, Renaissance Planning  Shane Laakso, Renaissance Planning  Jessica Dimmick, Renaissance Planning (Remote)  Kate Ange, Renaissance Planning (Remote)

The Southeast Florida TOD Working Group is open to anyone interested in collaboration. If you are interested in attending the TOD Working Group, please contact Shane Laakso at [email protected] or 561-404-7261 x157.

Detailed Meeting Notes

AGENDA ITEM #1: TOD ROUNDTABLE UPDATES Palm Tran reported that the West Palm Beach Transit Village development at the existing Tri-Rail station has received all local approvals and is still progressing, but the developer has not identified a timeframe for starting construction. The Transit Village is a proposed mixed-use TOD that will be constructed over the existing intermodal facility. Palm Tran reported that the West Palm Beach Brightline station and the adjacent TOD are currently under construction. Palm Tran noted that the agency will provide bus service to complement Brightline. SFRTA, SFRPC, and TCRPC are working together on the TOD Planning Pilot Program grant from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) that will fund station area planning assistance for a minimum of four Tri-Rail Coastal Link stations. SFRTA has finalized the subrecipient agreements with SFRC and TCRPC. SFRTA is completing the grant procurement process with FTA and is reporting to FTA to ensure compliance. The SFRC is holding a public meeting to introduce local governments to the Tri-Rail Coastal Link FTA TOD Pilot Program on December 16, 2016. The TCRPC will hold workshops in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties in January 2017 for eligible applicants (local governments, including Community Redevelopment Agencies and Downtown Development Authorities). SFRTA anticipates that local governments will be able to submit applications for planning assistance in early 2017 and that planning activities will begin after station areas are selected.

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The SFRC’s responsibilities under the TOD Pilot Program Grant include:

 Selecting the station areas for planning  Conducting an affordable housing study  Developing station area bicycle and pedestrian plans for select station areas  Conducting a water and wastewater capacity analysis along the TRCL corridor  Evaluating the potential for a regional TOD fund  Coordinating public and agency participation In early 2017, the SFRC will convene advisory groups related to housing, TOD, bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, and wastewater to support the effort. SFRC anticipates that most planning work related to the TOD Pilot Program grant will occur in 2017. SFRC is hopeful that this effort will successfully promote TOD. The FDOT District Four reported that FDOT Central Office and Florida East Coast Industries are currently in negotiations, the results of which will dictate when FDOT can submit the Tri-Rail Coastal Link Project Development (PD) application to FTA, possibly as early as December 2016. FDOT District Four reported on the Cypress Creek Road I-95 Interchange PD&E Study. The team met with the City of Fort Lauderdale and the Mobility Hub Stakeholder group, which consists of city and county agencies including the Broward County Planning Council, SFRTA, FDOT, and Envision Uptown. The City of Fort Lauderdale is progressing with a land use plan amendment in the Cypress Creek Core area, roughly defined as the area bounded by Powerline Road, McNab Road, I-95, and south of the Tri- Rail Station. Based on coordination with stakeholders, the PD&E team is seriously investigating relocating the southbound I-95 on-ramp from North Andrews Avenue to another location. A developer is moving forward to develop the commercially zoned portion of the FDOT-owned Park-and-Ride lot at the Cypress Creek station. Additional entitlements will be needed to add a residential component to the property. FDOT District Four also reported the City of Lauderdale Lakes developed a TOD master plan for the area around State Road 7 and Oakland Park Boulevard. This area is also a Gateway Hub within the Broward MPO’s Mobility Hub master plan and is ranked #2 on the prioritized mobility hub list. The land owner on the southeast quadrant of the intersection is not receptive to the master plan nor the creation of a mobility hub. The City has tempered its support of the TOD master plan and mobility hub. FDOT is moving forward with the installation of median barriers to prevent jay walking across Oakland Park and State Road 7 by bus users and other pedestrians. FDOT District Four held listening sessions and a summit to re-engage stakeholders in the I-95 Corridor Mobility Planning Project (CMPP) to holistically address the complex mobility and land use issues in eastern Broward and southeastern Palm Beach counties that contribute to congestion on I-95. The I- 95 CMPP aligns closely with the goals of the TOD Working Group and both efforts can support each other. During the listening sessions and summit, stakeholders identified a need to increase support from elected officials on broader land use and multimodal transportation strategies and a need for guidance on how to incorporate the Aspirational Future Vision into stakeholders’ policies and decision- making processes. More information is available on the project website at: www.myplanspace.com/i95. The Palm Beach MPO is building awareness for the region’s first Public Transit Day on December 9, 2016 – a day where elected officials and the public pledge to take public transit and tweet about their

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experience. The MPO is hosting a kick-off event. You can take the pledge to ride public transit on December 9th at the Public Transit Day website at www.publictransitday.com. The City of West Palm Beach selected a consulting team led by Alta Planning + Design to study a mobility fee for the downtown and other sections of the City. The mobility fee may be used to fund transportation improvements within the City. All Aboard Florida’s (AAF) construction on the West Palm Beach Brightline station is progressing, and the City anticipates that this project will be completed in Summer 2017. In addition to the station, AAF has started construction on a mixed-use development adjacent to the station containing 285 residential units, 12,000 square feet of commercial, and 838 parking spaces (500 park and ride spaces and 338 spaces for the residences). The City anticipates that this project will be completed in Summer 2018.

AGENDA ITEM #2: STRATEGIC MIAMI AREA RAPID TRANSIT PLAN - PRESENTATION BY WILSON FERNANDEZ Wilson Fernandez showed a video of the Strategic Miami Area Rapid Transit (SMART) Plan, available on the Miami-Dade MPO’s website at: http://miamidadempo.org/smartplan.asp The SMART plan identifies six rapid transit corridors in Miami-Dade County that support future population and employment growth, as well as a network of express buses that will seamlessly connect the SMART plan corridors, see Figure 1. In February 2016, the Miami-Dade MPO Board adopted a resolution establishing that the advancement of rapid transit corridor projects and transit supportive projects is the Board’s highest priority. In April of 2016, the MPO Board adopted a resolution endorsing the SMART plan and providing funding for project development and environmental (PD&E) studies for the six rapid transit corridors. The PD&E studies will conduct detailed analysis to determine the most appropriate transit solution for each corridor, which may be light rail transit. The MPO is using the SMART Plan to help guide the corridor planning process and is coordinating the efforts of several partners including FDOT and Miami-Dade County. Coordination between the partners is helping to develop a unified vision, Figure 1: Strategic Miami Area Rapid Transit Plan Map, showing six maximize funding opportunities, foster Rapid Transit Corridors and a network of express buses. High resolution image available at: partnerships, and helping the county http://miamidadempo.org/library/maps/smart-plan-map-revised- implement the SMART plan. The MPO has 2016-11-02.pdf

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received 10 letters and/or resolutions of support for the SMART Plan from partners. Figure 2 shows the range of MPO partners. MPO Partners are moving forward with PD&E studies for five of the six rapid transit corridors. FDOT District Six is currently conducting PD&E studies on the North Corridor (NW 27th Ave) and Kendall Drive. FDOT District Four is leading the PD&E study for the Northeast Corridor (Tri- Rail Coastal Link). The Miami- Dade County Department of Transportation and Public Works will be responsible for conducting the PD&E studies Figure 2: Miami-Dade MPO's Partners for the Beach Corridor and South Dade TransitWay, which are anticipated to begin before the end of the year, and for the East- West Corridor (SR-836), which is currently in the planning phase. The MPO Board approved funding for these studies in 2016. In tandem with the PD&E studies, the Miami-Dade MPO is leading implementation activities for each corridor in partnership with the Miami-Dade County Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources (RER). Implementation activities will include locally-driven land use visioning activities to address transit supportive development, complete streets and aesthetics, and economic development. The land use visioning activities are anticipated to include scenario planning and result in transit corridor master plans. The Miami-Dade MPO will provide technical implementation support for each rapid transit corridor, including systems planning, ridership forecasting, and cost estimation. The MPO is a leading partner for collaboration and public outreach activities, and advancing the corridors through financial assessments, funding plans and prioritization. The MPO is committed to advancing all six corridors, and is prioritizing the corridors that are most competitive for federal new starts program funding first. The MPO is advancing implementation activities for the South Dade TransitWay first, by developing an implementation plan in partnership with the municipalities along that corridor. The South Dade TransitWay Implementation Plan will include a local corridor vision plan and a community engagement plan, and it will promote economic development along the corridor. Each municipality along the corridor has entered into an interlocal agreement with the MPO to contribute funding to support the implementation plan. Miami-Dade County has land use jurisdiction on land surrounding each metro station, which helps encourage coordination and cooperation between the MPO, Miami-Dade County, and each municipality. In addition, the MPO is modeling several land use and transportation scenarios using 2040 growth projections to understand how reallocating new growth into rapid transit corridors and potential transit investments will improve mobility and accessibility.

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The MPO recognizes the need to plan for and implement the SMART Plan holistically, and anticipates that the SMART plan will be implemented before 2040. Other metropolitan areas have implemented similar initiatives within 8 to 10 years. The MPO will provide an update on the accelerated implementation schedule at the December Planners Technical Advisory Committee meeting.

AGENDA ITEM #3: REPORT ON REGIONAL TOD COMPACT DISCUSSIONS AND NEXT STEPS Background Context – Genesis of the Regional TOD Compact Concept and Past Discussions

The TOD Working Group explored models of regional TOD collaboration through a research effort1 and discussions at previous TOD Working Group meetings. In early 2016, the TOD Working Group and Leadership Committee agreed to focus on TOD implementation. In response, Renaissance investigated TOD implementation programs of four cohort regions that have successfully overcome the same challenges that Southeast Florida is currently experiencing. The cohort regions employed 10 key initiatives that led to successful TOD implementation. Renaissance presented these 10 key TOD implementation initiatives at the May 2016 TOD Working Group meeting, documented the findings in a memorandum, and provided the memorandum to the TOD Working Group.2 One of the 10 implementation initiatives is a Regional TOD Compact, which the Leadership Committee and Working Group have discussed in previous meetings. A regional TOD compact is one potential mechanism for improving collaboration amongst regional TOD stakeholders. Purpose of Regional TOD Coordination Achieving TOD requires extensive coordination in several different ways:

 Across different disciplines including transportation, land use, infrastructure, and economic development.  Within and between stakeholder agency and local government staff  With elected officials and the public  Across city, county, MPO, and regional planning council boundaries  Across different interests Regional TOD coordination is important to ensure consistency and continuity amongst the various stakeholders and decision-making processes. Internal coordination can allow stakeholders agencies and local governments to be on the same page when talking about TOD planning and implementation within the organization and to the public. Internal coordination can lead to updated planning review processes that incorporate TOD considerations. External coordination between and among agencies and local governments can help partners sync processes and policies across geographic boundaries and lead to consistent plans and coordinated infrastructure investments. External coordination may also help generate mutual support and shared funding for TOD resources, such as staff support, tool development, or beneficial studies and research. Regional TOD stakeholders in Puget Sound, one of the four cohort regions to Southeast Florida and a model for regional TOD collaboration, formalized their collaborative efforts through the Growing Transit

1 Report available at http://www.sfrpc.com/TOD/citiesthatwork- 289dd1/Documents/ResearchReportsforTODWorkingGroup/ModelsofCollaboration_091914.pdf. 2 To request a copy of the TOD Implementation Initiatives memo, please email Shane Laakso at [email protected].

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Communities Compact, which underpins the region’s TOD efforts. The GTC compact articulates shared goals, values, and principles like economic development and resource protection, establishes TOD as an implementation strategy, and affirms a commitment for stakeholders to work together. In August 2016, the Working Group recommended that the facilitation team meet with representatives from the regional planning councils and MPOs to discuss issues and opportunities associated with creating a regional TOD compact. Status Report at the November 2016 TOD Working Group Meeting Summary of TOD Compact Discussions The facilitation team met with the Miami-Dade MPO, Broward MPO, Palm Beach MPO and SFRC to discuss the regional compact concept. A meeting with TCRPC is still to be scheduled. The TOD Leadership Committee also discussed the TOD compact idea at their meeting on October 12. The conversations considered whether a regional TOD compact is needed for TOD coordination, the scope of a potential compact (limited to TOD or expanded to multimodal transportation), and relationships with existing agencies and process. The MPOs, SFRC, and TOD Leadership Committee indicated that the region is not ready for a regional TOD compact right now. Several agencies indicated that TOD is too narrow a topic for a regional compact and multimodal transportation is a broader topic that stakeholders may support. A compact would overlap with existing TOD initiatives and discussions adding another layer of coordination and effort. The MPOs and SFRC had different views about why the timing for a compact is not right. Some agencies indicated that a compact may be viable in the future, but that the region is not ready now because premium transit is too far away, while other agencies indicated that it is too late for a TOD Compact because planning for premium transit is already underway, especially in Miami-Dade County, and the Tri-Rail/Tri-Rail Coastal Link Corridors. Agencies indicated that there is a lack of clarity about the purpose and effectiveness of a TOD Compact. Although the time may not be right for a regional TOD compact, the MPOs and SFRC noted there is a need for additional TOD outreach, coordination and education. The Leadership Committee discussed the potential for further collaboration between the TOD Working Group and the Southeast Florida Climate Change Compact and the Southeast Florida Transportation Council (SEFTC). SEFTC could serve as a catalyst for advancing TOD or multimodal transportation. TOD Coordination Models Chris Sinclair presented several potential models for regional TOD collaboration in addition to a regional compact. These models each have benefits and drawbacks. Table 1 lists four regional coordination models and indicates how they can address a variety of factors that can facilitate successful TOD coordination. In the table, High, Moderate, and Low designations represent the ability of the Coordination Model to include a greater or reduced span of each component of TOD collaboration in the column headers. For example, a TOD Working Committee has a High ability to span Disciplines and Geography. This means that a TOD Working Committee can incorporate a wide range of disciplines in its activities and can attract participants from a large geography. Conversely, a TOD Working Committee is designated Low in Decision Making Levels and Funding and Resources. This means that the TOD Working Committee has a low ability to make decisions and muster funding and

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resources. A TOD Working Committee can have a Moderate effect on regional Policy and Planning initiatives. The table includes two potential new coordination models in Southeast Florida: a SEFTC RTTAC TOD/Multimodal subcommittee and a Regional Climate Change TOD Committee. Potential drawbacks of these potential models are that a SEFTC subcommittee would have indirect connections with non- transportation agencies and interests, while a Regional Climate Change TOD Committee would have a broader mission that could reduce the focus on TOD.

Table 1: TOD Coordination Models

Similarities with Southeast Florida Climate Change Compact Planning for climate change parallels planning for TOD in many ways. Both issues span jurisdictional boundaries, require coordinated political efforts, require the expenditure of significant resources, and benefit from coordination. The Southeast Florida Climate Change Compact is a successful model of regional collaboration in Southeast Florida that coordinates and facilitates local government climate change planning, education, and lobbying efforts. Before the Climate Compact, the four counties were independently addressing and expending resources on similar climate issues. They realized that they could more effectively address shared challenges by working together. The Southeast Florida TOD Working Group facilitation team spoke with Dr. Jennifer Jurado in September 2016. Dr. Jurado has been involved with the Climate Change Compact from its inception and provided some insight into the formation of the compact. When the Climate Change Compact first organized, participants developed organizing principles, a legislative program, identified policy issues, developed tools, and created a regional action plan. They did not talk about funding. Each partner in the compact works from the same framework but has unique priorities. Group Discussion The group briefly discussed the potential for establishing a more formal relationship with the Climate Change Compact. The facilitation team has invited Dr. Jurado to talk to the TOD Working Group at the February 2017 meeting. Next Steps

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Mr. Sinclair suggested the following next steps: 1. Meet with TCRPC to continue conversations on regional TOD coordination 2. Develop and test up to three coordination models against coordination goals a. Alternative 1: Coordination among existing organizations b. Alternative 2: Regional compact c. Alternative 3: Variation of 1 and 2 3. Present models to Leadership Committee 4. Present models to Working Group (February 2017) 5. Recommend TOD Coordination Model

AGENDA ITEM #4: TOD IMPLEMENTATION WORKSHOPS - UPDATED APPROACH Background Context – Genesis of the Workshops and Past Conversations In 2015, the TOD Working Group voiced a desire to undertake more action-oriented tasks to more proactively help facilitate TOD in the region, moving beyond the group’s original function to share information. In response to this desire, the Working Group identified seven potential activities they were willing to undertake at the November 2015 meeting, and chose three related activities to focus on in 2016: a survey to TOD stakeholders on challenges and topics of interest that would inform an education and outreach effort, which could include a series of workshops and remote webinars to help local governments better implement TOD, and ultimately culminate in a panel forum event to address TOD challenges and topics of interest. In February 2016, the Working Group agreed the most important stakeholders to reach out to for the survey and education effort are local governments. The facilitation team shared a draft survey for local government planners with the Leadership Committee in March 2016, who agreed that implementation assistance to local governments is most needed. The committee suggested the Working Group host a series of workshops for local governments that cover TOD readiness, site design, and market analysis. The facilitation team collaborated with a representative from the Leadership Committee to develop a preliminary approach for a series of three TOD workshops for local governments. Participants would bring examples of station areas and apply the principles of readiness, site design, and market analysis in a hand-on exercise at each workshop. At the May 2016 meeting, the Working Group reaffirmed the desire to move forward with an outreach effort to help local governments implement TOD. The Working Group was generally supportive of the workshop series approach, and saw great value in the market analysis piece. Respondents to the survey for local governments also indicated interest in attending the workshops, and particularly in addressing market related challenges. The Working Group suggested considerations for advertising the workshops to avoid confusion with the upcoming Tri-Rail Coastal Link station area planning effort and emphasized that workshops apply to both rail and premium bus station areas. The Working Group asked the facilitation team to develop a more detailed approach for the workshop series. The facilitation team further developed and refined the workshop series approach to focus on providing assistance that local governments need, as reflected in the survey results and from discussions with local government and private sector representatives:

 Understanding market dynamics of TOD, including pro formas and development costs  Setting realistic expectations for densities and timing of development

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 Developing tangible action items to present to elected officials  Understanding public and private sector negotiating positions  Understanding site level planning issues, challenges, and solutions The facilitation team proposed condensing the effort into two workshops to cover station area level TOD readiness and market position in the first workshop, and site level TOD considerations including pro forma analysis, negotiating tactics, and action strategies for implementation in the second. The team also proposed using a station area typology approach to select four station areas in different stages of market maturity and different transit technologies for small groups to apply the principles in a hands-on activity. In July 2016, the Leadership Committee reiterated general support for the workshop series including an overview of TOD and information on pro-formas and site design, and suggested ways to use public funds for station area enhancements. The committee also suggested the facilitation team coordinate with FDOT, SFRTA, and TCRPC to coordinate efforts related to Tri-Rail Coastal Link and reduce confusion. In August 2016, the team presented the approach to the larger Working Group, who echoed the Leadership Committee’s concerns to ensure that all agencies are comfortable with the station areas selected for the workshops, recommended that workshops refrain from using stations on the Tri-Rail Coastal Link corridor, and requested that facilitators meet with the regional planning councils to discuss ways in which the TOD workshops could complement the councils’ station area planning efforts. Alternate Approach In response to the feedback received from the Leadership Committee and Working Group, conversations with other TOD stakeholders, and to new guidance on context sensitive implementation approaches, the facilitation team reframed the goals for the workshop series to:

 Reinforce the definition of TOD to bring consistent understanding across the region  Define what TOD success looks like at different evolutionary stages  Introduce an expanded station area typology based on emerging research  Provide guidance on specific implementation steps (carrots and sticks) local governments can take relative to the different station area typologies The newly revised approach uses station area examples outside of Southeast Florida. These examples span a spectrum of station area place types and illustrate how strategies to implement TOD must reflect the unique context of the place type. The implementation strategies will be relevant to station areas in Southeast Florida, depending on the station area place type; but the workshops will not use real places in Southeast Florida for the hands-on exercise. The revised approach also changes the focus of the two workshops: 1. What does successful TOD look like at different stages of TOD evolution? Introduce expanded definitions of station area place types and corridor types based on emerging research 2. How do local governments position for implementation? Use station area examples to understand market conditions, development financing, and context-sensitive implementation strategies

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The Leadership Committee met in October 2016, and strongly supported the revised approach. The committee suggested setting the regional context for the workshops so participants understand how they fit in with the emerging multimodal systems plan framework. The committee also suggested holding the workshops in each county to present the implementation strategies within the unique policies and regulatory mechanisms of each county. Group Discussion After Kate Ange presented the revised approach to the TOD Working Group, some participants expressed initial concern and confusion about the overlap in timing and content with other related station area planning efforts, especially in the Tri-Rail Coastal Link corridor. Subsequent to the meeting, FDOT District Four provided the following update on Tri-Rail Coastal Link: The start date of the Tri-Rail Coastal Link Project Development phase (led by FDOT District Four) is undetermined due to a lack of local funding, and unresolved liability and indemnification issues. State legislation that would have clarified the liability and indemnification issues was not adopted in 2016; However, FDOT anticipates that this legislation will be considered again in 2017. Resolving the issues of liability and indemnification is critical to completing the TRCL Downtown Miami Link and future links, because the service will operate on the privately-owned Florida East Coast Railway. Local funding commitments must also be addressed prior to the TRCL moving forward. SFRTA and the regional planning councils anticipate providing station area planning assistance for selected Tri-Rail Coastal Link station areas through the FTA TOD Planning Pilot Program grant in Spring 2017 too. The Miami-Dade MPO is undertaking corridor visioning efforts for the six rapid transit corridors in the SMART plan. Participants discussed ways in which the Working Group’s workshops series would most effectively complement the other efforts – should these workshops be held before, during, or after these other station area efforts? Some participants worried there would be confusion, fatigue, or saturation with the same subject matter. The facilitation team clarified that the TOD Implementation Workshops will not focus on specific station areas in Southeast Florida (neither Tri-Rail Coastal Link nor other transit corridors), and not intended to be place-based or project-based. They are not intended to produce station area plans. Instead, they are intended to teach participants how to discern and understand the market-, people-, place-, and policy-based contexts of a station area, and how context influences the planning and implementation activities. Several participants supported the subject-based or “continuing education” approach, noting it would be beneficial, especially if provided now before the place-specific project-based station area planning efforts of the SMART plan and Tri-Rail Costal Link get underway. These workshops will provide knowledge and insight to planners so they can have the tools to apply once these and other projects get underway and when developers bring forward development project proposals. Other suggestions included:

 Include affordable housing as part of the conversation  Ask the FDOT District Four Tri-Rail Coastal Link PD&E study team to speak to the TOD Working Group at the next meeting with an updated schedule  Consider having Dana Little and Tom Lavash present urban design and market analysis principles as part of the TOD Implementation Workshops

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AGENDA ITEM #5: PRESENTATION BY RICHARD LORBER ON THE CITY OF NORTH MIAMI BEACH’S TOD PLANNING EFFORTS The City of North Miami Beach is in the beginning stages of a transformation, spurred on by the City’s potential Tri-Rail Coastal Link station which is located west of Biscayne Boulevard and north of SR 826. The City recently adopted a TOD comprehensive plan amendment to support this transformation. The northeast corner of 163rd Street and Biscayne Boulevard is currently being up zoned to allow a 30-story residential development. A developer has recently purchased property north of NE 164th Street and adjacent to the potential station area as well as an adjacent property across Biscayne Boulevard. The City hopes that the developer will pursue a pedestrian bridge across Dixie Highway. The City is interested in learning more about the tools available for TOD planning. For example, it is unclear what number of park and ride lot spaces is appropriate for the station area. The City wants to ensure that the station area contains a network of connected streets to allow for walking and biking from the station, and to provide connectivity for a potential local shuttle service or Miami-Dade Transit hub.

Mr. Lorber identified the intersection of 163rd street and Biscayne Boulevard as an intersection that is dangerous for pedestrians and requires pedestrian improvements. Mr. Lorber provided a handout of the City’s station area from the Tri-Rail Coastal Link Station Area Opportunities document. The handout is on PDF page 70 at the following link: http://www.sfrta.fl.gov/docs/Planning/Tri-Rail_Final_Web_130409.pdf

Future Meetings

The next TOD Working Group meeting is currently scheduled for Friday, February 4, 2016 from 9:00 am to noon. The meeting location is to be determined. Please contact Shane Laakso if you are interested in hosting future meetings at [email protected] or 561-404-7261 x157.

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